A Labor of Love

09/02/2022

Welcome back to the Janitor's closet!  Summer is getting smaller in our rearview mirror and the routine of the school day is beginning to become, well... routine.  Names are becoming familiar, rules are beginning to be understood, and the first break of the school year has arrived.  Labor day is a national holiday that celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers.  But to those who are fortunate enough to actually get the day off it has always been not so much a celebration of labor but a break from it.

When I was a bright-eyed school-aged youth the school year didn't begin until after the Labor Day weekend.  I can remember the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon on TV each  Labor Day weekend.  The telethon would always end with Jerry singing, "You'll Never Walk Alone".  Even as a child, every time I heard that song, I found myself misty-eyed.  Whether due to the fact that it was such a touching song in regards to those fighting Muscular Dystrophy or the fact that it was a precursor to the beginning of my school year, that song had meaning and stirred my emotions.

The Labor Day weekend break that comes, now, shortly after the beginning of school has become, somewhat, of a lifeline for teachers. After the first few weeks of a new school year, teachers deserve a little break. Although, I'm not quite sure if this particular holiday is a celebration of the accomplishments of their labor or a stark reminder of the intense labor that is about to consume their daily lives.  Either way, it's a break, nonetheless, and a break that, I'm sure, they are happy to have.

So, as staff and students begin their annual ritual of classes and chaos, meetings and mischief, triumphs and trials, I wish, for all of you, that this year might be a labor of love.  Love for a career that is rewarding even though it is not always recognized. Love for a career that gives you the opportunity to make real change in people's lives even though that change may not be seen for years.  Love for a career that places you shoulder to shoulder with peers and colleagues who walk and work beside you every day, encouraging each other to keep going.

Maybe Jerry Lewis was right, especially in regard to teaching.  No matter the mountain tops you experience or the valleys you find yourself lost in during this coming school year one thing is certain...you won't be alone.  There will be others beside you walking the journey with you.  They will lend an ear when you need it and silence when words just don't work.  

I leave you with a few lines from that song that still fills my ears each Labor Day weekend.  Take them as encouragement as you walk the path of this new school year. "Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart and you'll never walk alone, you'll never walk alone."  Have a great break and a great year.

PS-  If you have never heard the song check out Youtube and Google "Elvis".  You'll thank me later!


Derek

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